A British tour guide who devoted her life to working with tourists on the idyllic Caribbean island of St Maarten has been found murdered.
Police arrested Lianne Burns’ boyfriend and took him in for questioning just hours after her body was discovered by Ian Gurr, her boss at Rendezvous Tours, which is based on the island.
Burns had been working on the island for the past 12 years after falling in love with it during a visit whilst working on a cruise ship.
She was strangled in her ocean-front apartment and her body found in the study from where she worked.
Known by everyone on the French/Dutch island as Lee, Burns was a well-liked figure and no motive has yet been established.
The victim’s family from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex will travel out to the island this week.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We were made aware of the death of a British national on April 29. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”
by Dinah Hatch
